Bad Ideas

• Stephanie Horton, Grade 10
• Short Story
• 2009

As she ran through the corridor, she couldn’t remember which way to go. It was all so confusing. She had come with good intentions earlier, thinking everything would be ok.
She turned down the corridor to her right. Where was she? ‘The east wing’ she thought. Everything looked the same in the dark. She ducked behind another garbage bin, sat there shaking with fear. Someone was chasing her, she tried to get a look at their face as they went past, but all she could make out was a boy through the shadows. He started calling her name. How did he know her name? She was really frightened now.
Forty-five minutes earlier she was supposed to meet her boyfriend in the breakfast hall, or was it outside the breakfast hall? He didn’t come! She thought he was running late so she waited over an hour, but still he didn’t come.
She decided to call him early next morning. As soon as she woke up!
As she walked out he stopped her.
“You were inside? Why?” he asked.
“Mick?” She replied.
“Yeah who else?” he replied jokingly, “Why were you inside?”
“That’s where we were going to meet!” she said. “Wasn’t it?”
Suddenly there was a noise down the corridor.
“I think someone followed me” Mick said.
“Are you sure? Do you know who it was?” Jane asked as she squinted through the darkness.
She looked back to Mick’s face to see sarcasm written all over it.
“What?” she asked innocently.
“Nothing!” he said with a grin, “Go wait down the corridor behind a bin or something, while I see who it is. I don’t want you getting hurt or in trouble.”
Now it was Jane’s turn to look at Mick sarcastically. He looked back at her with a smile and a nod to tell her to go. She left with a flick of his wrist.
‘How does he know my name?’ she thought. And then without thinking she called out quietly “Mick.”
He turned around.
“Oh my gosh, Mick! You scared me!” she laughed.
“Oops sorry about that” he laughed with her.
“So who was it?” she asked Mick as they made their way back down the corridors.
“Umm” he blushed. She could see that in the dark.
“Umm what?” she teased.
“It was just one of the pets. Escaped its cage, I think!” he said.
Both students were very tired now. They decided to go to bed. And with that they both said “Goodnight.”